An Addition to the Family
by bashfulglowfly
Summary: Tenzo returns from a long mission away from the village. And to his horror he discovers that Orochimaru has a "daughter"...and that she has the mokuton.
1. Chapter 1

**An Addition to the Family**

 **By Bashfulglowfly**

It had been a long time since Cat had been home. His mission had taken almost a year to complete. It was a long time for a member of ANBU to be out in the field for a single mission. ANBU missions that long were normally border patrols. But he couldn't really complain, even though he was bone-deep tired in his hurry to return, his mission was successful.

But, since he was tired from his journey so Cat chose to go over the Wall near the Academy instead of going around and entering through the Main Gate. He wasn't going at a breakneck speed through the trees but he wasn't going at a leisurely pace either. But when the flare of distressed chakra came from the Academy, he turned and sprinted towards it.

Instinctively he identified the location: the Academy Training Grounds.

What he saw when he arrived almost made him stumble in shock but he moved faster to prevent what he knew would happen.

His tanto sliced through the pointed branches that were arrowing towards the four girls that were trapped and bound.

"STOP!"

The little pink-haired girl froze and stared at him with tear-filled green eyes. Cat could hear her panicked breathing. A little blonde girl avoided the branches protruding from the girl and wrapped her arms around her friend. "It's okay, Sakura. It's okay. We won't let them hurt you anymore. Will we, ANBU-san?"

One of the girls behind Cat began screaming. "I'm going to have my daddy kill you, you forehead freak!"

The branches trembled and once again sprang for the girl and Cat blocked them. "Shut up!" he growled.

The idiot child only shrieked louder this time joined by her three friends. "FOREHEAD FREAK! FOREHEAD FREAK!"

This time Cat turned around to face the girl and removed his mask. "Be. Quiet." Stunning the four girls into silence. _HA! Suck that, Shisui. My ghoul face_ does _have its uses._

While he was a firm believer in ANBU protocol. This was, obviously, going to be the exception to the rule. If needed, he could always request a new mask pattern. He attached the mask to his belt as he went to one knee before the girl. "Hello, Sakura-chan. My name is Tenzo."

She sniffled. "Hello, Tenzo-san."

Tenzo smiled at her. "Have you made branches like this before, Sakura-chan."

The blonde girl spoke up. "No. This is the first time and those meanies deserve it if they get poked!"

"Ino-chan!"

Ino hugged Sakura tighter. "They deserve it, Sakura-chan." She said emphatically.

Tenzo kept the smile on his face. He could see that Sakura was terrified about what had just happened but he needed to make sure that she wasn't going to be afraid of what she could do and then he needed find out how in the hell she had a mokuton. Because he was the last person to have it and the way he'd gotten it wasn't pleasant.

At all.

"I'm guessing you got scared. That's how a lot of people gain their Kekkei Genkai. But, you are safe now." Tenzo felt a familiar chakra signature racing towards them. Iruka. "I need you to concentrate. Think about the branches going back into your body."

Sakura whimpered. "I'm scared."

Iruka was there. Tenzo could feel his shock but knew the chuunin teacher would hide it. "I know, Sakura-chan. But, watch this."

He heard Iruka inhale and whisper "Not your fingers!"

Tenzo held out his hand and he made a small tree grow from the palm of his hand. The two girls watched as it grew to about six inches, developed branches, leaves then bloomed with small pink flowers."

Sakura's eyes grew wide. "A Sakura tree!"

"That's right. A Sakura tree. Now watch." This time he did things in reverse and the tree disappeared into his hand. "Now, you try."

Iruka reached over and gently ruffled Sakura's hair. "You can do it!"

Sakura gave a tremulous smile at the teacher then closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Slowly the branches receded into her skin. When she opened her eyes again she looked down at her arms and hands. "I did it! They're gone!" Then she looked over Tenzo's shoulder and shivered.

"Sakura-chan, look at me." Tenzo held her eyes. "It's okay. You have done nothing wrong. Iruka-sensei will take care of those four. I'm going to take you home now."

Sakura shifted from foot to foot. "Papa's working today but I don't know where."

Tenzo looked at Iruka. "I don't know where Orochimaru-sama is working today." Said the other man.

Tenzo's blood ran cold. "Orochimaru?!" he hissed.

Iruka looked into his eyes then pulled him away from the children. "Look, I know you've been gone from the village for a while. And I know your feelings about Orochimaru but the situation has changed. A lot. Please, just reserve judgement until you know the facts."

"Reserve judgement?! After what he did to me and what he's obviously done to her? Res…"

Iruka was firm. "Yes. Because YOU don't have an idea of what has gone on and YOU don't know if he's done a damn thing to her. Reserve. Your. Judgement!" Iruka took a deep breath. "I don't know where Orochimaru-sama is and I think her older siblings are out of the village right now. So, take her to the Uchiha's. Mikoto-sama watches over her when Orochimaru-sama is gone."

Tenzo wanted to vomit over the idea of this child being subjected to Orochimaru's experiments. He wanted to vomit over the idea of being anywhere near the man. But, he had to, _needed to_ , find out why Sakura had the mokuton.

He gave a sharp nod to Iruka.

"Good." Iruka patted him on the arm then marched over to the four trapped girls. They received zero sympathy from their teacher as he freed them from their branch prisons.

Tenzo walked over to Sakura and held out his hand. "Iruka-sensei suggested we go to Mikoto-sama and see if she knows where your father is." He was rather proud that he didn't choke on the word "father."

Sakura placed her hand in his and Ino grabbed her other. "I'm going too!" said the blonde child.

Tenzo didn't object. It was obvious that Sakura and Ino cared about each other and Sakura needed someone there for her. They began walking for the school gates.

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The trio walked through the gates of the Uchiha district and the first person they saw was Uchiha Mikoto who was carrying groceries.

Sakura tore free from Tenzo and Ino, running to the surprised woman. "Auntie Mikoto!" By the time Mikoto had her arms around the child, Sakura was sobbing.

Mikoto looked to the man who had been holding Sakura's hand for answers.

The man with an ANBU mask attached to his belt bowed to her. "My name is Tenzo. Sakura developed a Kekkei Genkai while at school today."

Mikoto was shocked to her core. "A Kekkei Genkai?! Which one?"

"Mokuton."

"Oh, gods!" Mikoto took a deep breath and rose to her feet, still holding Sakura. "Ino-chan, would you please grab those bags for me." Ino darted over, picked them up and stood at Mikoto's side. "Thank you for bringing her to me, Tenzo-san, but her father needs to know this. You can find Orochimaru-san with the Hokage."

Tenzo gave her a doubtful look. "The Hokage?"

Mikoto smiled. "Yes, Konoha will be hosting the Winter Chuunin Exams and they're getting things ready. They're probably busy but Orochimaru will drop everything when he hears. Please hurry."

Tenzo could do nothing but bow in obedience. He hadn't heard much gossip about Konoha while on his mission but he had heard that the Uchiha's Clan Head had been murdered and the New Head was his wife.

888888

Tenzo knocked on the Hokage's office door and entered at the command to enter.

The Hokage looked up and her eyebrow rose at the sight of the unmasked ANBU. "You must be Tenzo. Welcome home. I trust you have something to report since you're here."

Tenzo refused to look at the two men seated on a sofa to the side of the Hokage's desk. He bowed to the Hokage. "Yes, ma'am but not what you expect."

"Report."

"I re-entered Konoha over the Wall by the Academy. As I went past, I felt a flare of chakra. I investigated and it was a student who had been greatly distressed and she developed a Kekkei Genkai."

The Hokage sighed. "Why do I have a feeling I'm going to be shocked about the name of the child and what she developed."

"Her name is Sakura." Tenzo saw the Snake Sannin jerk to his feet. "And her Kekkei Genkai is the mokuton."

The jaws of the three older shinobi dropped in shock. The Hokage was the first to recover. "And you would certainly know about that." She turned to her teammate. "Oro…"

"Tsunade, I…I…I…" The Snake Sannin was speechless.

Jiraiya patted him on the back and looked at Tenzo. "Is Sakura-chan alright? Where is she?"

"She's with Uchiha Mikoto. She frightened herself. Badly."

The Hokage reached into her desk pulled out a bottle and poured the contents into a mug. Taking a sip, she asked. "What happened?"

By the time Tenzo finished his report, Jiraiya was literally sitting on his snarling teammate. "I'll kill them! Nasty little brats! Their parents were _warned_."

"Orochimaru, I'll handle it." The Hokage pointed at the snarling snake summoner. "You will do _nothing_. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Came the reluctant reply. "Get off me, you fool."

"What sort of testing have you done on Sakura?"

Orochimaru's gaze flickered to Tenzo. "Not the sort that I performed on my eldest son." Tenzo choked. "Just the basic ones to make sure she didn't have any medical issues that would surprise us." He took a deep breath. "I never thought to perform a DNA test."

Jiraiya spoke up. "The Haruno's are related to Oro's Clan via marriage but I've never heard of any connection to the Senju."

"Well, there obviously is one. Perform the DNA test. See who Sakura actually is related to." The Hokage hesitated for a moment. "If she does turn out to be a Senju…I'm not going to take her away from you, Oro."

"I know, Tsunade." Orochimaru glanced at Tenzo then turned back to the Hokage. "I must ask that my eldest son be assigned to in-village missions until his sister has control over her Kekkei Genkai."

"I AM NOT YOUR SON!"

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow at the outburst. "You were an orphan. You were under my control for an extended period of time. I created the person you are today, therefore you are my son."

The Hokage hid her eyes for a moment. "Your argument is less than sound, Oro. I do think the boy has something to say about that. But I do agree that he needs to stay in village until Sakura has control over her gift."

Orochimaru developed an expression on the first two sentences that Tenzo would have described as mulish if it had been anyone else. But his face relaxed at the third. He bowed to the Hokage. "If you will excuse me, I must attend to my daughter." He didn't wait for a response as he strode for the door. "Come along, Tenzo. I have some more questions to ask of you."

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Orochimaru pulled Sakura's bedroom door so it would block the light from the hall but not quite close. His baby girl was finally sleeping soundly but he left one of his snakes with her just in case and he wanted Midori to be able to come get him if needed and she was too large to squeeze under the door.

Sakura was a grandchild of a Senju. The tests had confirmed that but what was yet unknown was who was her grandparent. Finding that out would take longer since he'd have to go through the rest of the Senju DNA samples one by one until he found a match.

He could hear Jiraiya's voice rumble from the living room. It had been an almost constant rumble while he gave Sakura her bath then read her a story. He had periodically heard Tenzo's lighter tones. Orochimaru figured that Tenzo had asked Jiraiya something along the lines of "What the Hell is going on?!"

Orochimaru entered the living room and from the stunned look on Tenzo's face, he was right. Jiraiya had filled the boy in on what had been going on while he was on his mission. Orochimaru sighed as he settled down into his favorite chair. He smiled his thanks as Jiraiya handed him a cup of tea. He took a sip and sighed with appreciation. "Sakura's sleeping now." He looked at Tenzo. "I assume since you have returned, your mission was successful?"

Tenzo swallowed. "Yes, sir, it was good."

Orochimaru nodded, then leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "I look forward to reading your report." He murmured. "I hope it will be more than two pages long."

Tenzo reluctantly chuckled. "I'm not Kakashi-senpai."

"One would hope not."

The quiet reigned for a while until Tenzo broke it. "I think I'll have my report finished by the day after tomorrow if I work hard. Then I can work with Sakura on her mokuton."

"Good." Orochimaru opened his eyes and gazed at Tenzo. "Regardless of what you may think of me, I want you to know that I'm very proud of the man you've become."

To Tenzo's shock, he felt his throat tighten. "Thank you."

Orochimaru smiled at him. "It's late and I'm sure there's nothing edible or clean in your apartment. There's an extra room down the hall on the right. Spend the night and I'll get a genin team to clean and resupply your apartment so that it's ready for you tomorrow night."

Tenzo's throat closed so completely that he felt tears come to his eyes. He rose and bowed to the two older men and went to the room Orochimaru indicated.

He stared sleepless at the dark ceiling for several hours.

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 _[Seven months later]_

"Fuck you, Tenzo!"

"Regardless of what you think of me, Anko, I'm a plant freak not an incestuous one."

Kabuto snickered. "You better not let Father hear you talking like that in front of the baby."

"I'm not a baby!" Sakura slapped her hand on the table and a sharp shoot darted out from the other side toward Kabuto. His hand glowed green and sliced the shoot away.

"No, you're a brat." He grinned when Sakura started to create another weapon via her mokuton but stopped at the glare of her oldest brother.

"You're all brats." Came the declaration of the Clan Heir.


	2. Chapter 2

[One week after discovering Sakura had the Mokuton]

Orochimaru walked inside his home and carefully shut the door behind him. He slid off his sandals and set them carefully aside. He looked up and smiled at the mug of tea that was in front of him. He took it from Kabuto and took a careful sip. Wonderful. "You are a delightful child." He murmured.

Kabuto grinned. "Thank you. Welcome home. Anko went out with friends. Sakura has eaten, bathed, had a story read and is now sound asleep." He raised his voice. "And Nii-san has some information for you. I'll be in my room." Kabuto bowed and walked away. Before he left the room, he sang out "Good night Nii-san."

Orochimaru restrained his smile at the silent fuming that came from Tenzo. He crossed the room and curled up in his chair. He took another sip of tea and gazed at his oldest son. "You look less stressed. Good sleep in a real bed does wonders, doesn't it?"

"Yes. It does." Tenzo gave a tentative smile. "But you don't. You look more tired today than you did a week ago. Is there something wrong?"

Orochimaru waved a hand lightly dismissing Tenzo's question. "We've been dealing with preparing for the Chuunin exams, so not only are we dealing with domestic idiots but we're dealing with foreign ones as well." He took a sip of tea and sighed. "We have no idea how Sensei did this for so long."

"Not to change the subject, but have you discovered which Senju Sakura is related to?"

"Not yet. It takes time and the testing is being done when they have time to do so. It's not necessary that we know but it will be helpful."

"What about records concerning the mokuton?"

"The Senju were careless in their recordkeeping." Orochimaru was greatly offended by this, Tenzo could tell. He knew from experience that the Sannin strongly believed in thorough and accurate records. "Fortunately, the Uchiha have their own records. Even though it's second-hand information, at least it's more than what the Senju recorded."

"Observations from those in the field."

"Yes. The Uchiha Archivist was very kind in copying what they had." Orochimaru leaned back. "What do you have for me about Sakura's mokuton?"

Tenzo leaned back in his own chair and organized his thoughts before he spoke. "When the initial incident occurred, the branches where as big as my index finger. I'm theorizing that they were that size because of her fear. What she has produced since then have only been the size of her index finger. And they are more vine-like than branch-like."

"Do you think she'd be able to restrain a jinchuuriki?"

"Now? No. There's no way. Later, when she's matured into her talent?" Tenzo shrugged. "It's far too early to tell. And it's not something she should be pushed into." He looked into Orochimaru's eyes as he said that.

Orochimaru held Tenzo's gaze then inclined his head in approval.

Tenzo, to his surprise, felt a thrill of pleasure about that. He continued on with his report. "Sakura has been working with her mokuton at the Academy with the teachers there. Mostly being able to turn it on and off when she wants." He smiled. "Ino-chan has been encouraging her to make flowers. But we've been using the Uchiha Training Grounds along with the other Clan children that Sakura's been playing with after school is out. Itachi and Shisui have been there along with some off-duty Uchiha kunoichi, Saori-san and Misa-san, who had heard about Sakura's mokuton. They wanted to see it in action and felt that extra supervision was needed with something that was so…rare."

"Was the extra help needed?"

"Not really. They did a lot of laughing. But there were a few times they were needed."

"Go on."

"As I said, Sakura's mokuton is more vine-like than my own and a bit fragile. So it was suggested that she use it to trip people, wrap the vines around their ankles. Use it to bind a hand. She caught on quickly. Her vines break when someone pulls too hard but as a sneak attack by a 5-year-old against other 5-year-olds, they weren't too bad.

"She did manage to capture Kiba with some flowering vines. And the smell from the flowers made him throw up. Naruto got a little close and the smell made him nauseous too but when he was pulled out of the scent range, he was fine."

"How did Sakura react?"

"Typical for a little girl. Vomit is apparently gross. The boys thought it was funny though. Saori-san hosed him off and got him into dry clothes. Ino is encouraging Sakura to learn how to make more 'stinky flowers'"

Orochimaru smiled. "I admit that it's been a while since I was 5 but I seem to remember making someone throw up is vastly more entertaining than someone keeling over dead. But if she's able to make flowers like that then eventually she might be able to make poison flowers."

Tenzo wasn't surprised that the Snake Sannin would think like that. "I think that can wait a few years, don't you?"

Orochimaru smiled. "Gods willing, there will be plenty of time for her to grow up and learn what it's like to be a shinobi." He raised an eyebrow at Tenzo. "Did the children practice against only against each other?"

"No, since I was supervising Sakura's training that went to Itachi and Shisui. They played _janken_. The loser getting to be the enemy. Shisui lost. Apparently, this was the millionth time he's been the enemy." Tenzo paused. "Itachi cheated."

Orochimaru gave him a serene smile. "And he does it quite well. Thank the Gods Fugaku is dead. He damned near destroyed that boy."

Tenzo raised an eyebrow at that. Orochimaru nodded. "Talk to your Captain Hound. See if he'll let you read the ANBU reports. That's all I can tell you."

Tenzo nodded. Then took a deep breath. "Why did you experiment on me and the others?"

Orochimaru gazed at him steadily. "I have no excuse to give you. Other than pure hubris." Orochimaru took his own deep breath. "What I did to you…and to the others…was inexcusable. And I'm sorry for that. And I meant what I said the other day…I'm very proud of you."

Tenzo couldn't speak but he nodded.

"I want you to be my son. I will not change my mind about that. But, let's take it one day at a time, shall we."

"Yes…Orochimaru."

"It's a start, my son, it's a start."


End file.
